US House votes to suspend debt ceiling and avoid default

US House votes to suspend debt ceiling and avoid default
U.S. House Speaker McCarthy talks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A majority of the U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to approve a bipartisan bill to suspend the government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, just five days before the deadline to avoid a crippling default.

Voting continued on the legislation, which must also be approved by the Democratic-majority Senate before President Joe Biden can sign the measure into law.

(Reporting by David Morgan, Richard Cowan and Costas Pitas; Editing by Scott Malone)

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